Another movie, another video game based on the movie. We’ve all seen them, from the craptacular “Enter the Matrix” to the stellar Spiderman 2, if a buck can be made on a movie tie-in, chances are someone will do it and Transformers is no exception. Has quality been ignored in favor of shelling out the game fast enough? I don’t think so.

For starters, Peter Cullen does the voice for Optimus, so there is some justice in the world. A brief dialogue gives you the synopsis for the movie and the game: Find the Allspark! The graphics are decent enough to be worth looking at and the cutscenes are long enough and good looking to make it worthwhile, but short enough to not make it a chore to watch them.

The gameplay itself is decent. Once again you are pit in a sandbox environment that is yours for the exploring. The environment is destructable, which can make for a good time if you are feeling in a “giant rampaging robot” kind of mood. As a icon of your childhood, you have the ability to transform at will, which is a fun feature and helps you get from point to point faster. The missions naturally help progress the story with the option of the revisiting old missions. There are a few side missions that can be done for fun, but don’t offer anything in the way of plot advancement.

The nice thing about the game is that you can play as both the Autobots and Decepticons. While the basic controls are the same, the gameplay differs slightly depending on the side you choose. The Autobots are looking to preserve the world so the game wants you to play as such, avoiding going on a rampage as your team struggles to survive and avoid the local authorities… At least you look awesome as you run away from peashooters and not destroy houses. The Decepticons revel in their violence and the game rewards you appropriately. From the very first mission you are set with the task of destroying the structures these bags of meat hide in. Explosions abound make the Decepticons my current favorites to play.

Replay value is given in the form of extras. In each level are tons of energon cubes, the side missions, tasks, and icons to find. Each one helps to unlock some extras in the bonus section, such as movie stills, comic book covers, and movies. Finding all of these help to add to the fun, but the railroading of missions helps to progress the story, but not add much replay unless you enjoy being a large, rampaging robot.

The one big fault of the game is the camera. The Wii likes to use the pointer to show where you are looking at. You also shake the wiimote to attack,which can present a conflict of interests if you are trying to look at your enemy. You’ll find yourself going one way while the enemy goes the other. The targeting is a little shaky as well, but steady once you lock onto something. Fortunately, the minus button acts as a centering tool and plenty of life replenishment help while you adjust to the learning curve.

All in all, Transformers: The Game is a solid movie platformer as far as that genre goes. Some of the controls take getting used to and the in-play graphics are not state of the art, but it is still a fun game to play. Some extras give it replay value, but may not draw everyone back to play through more. The ability to play both sides is a great touch and helps add to replay where the lure of extras may not. All in all, I’d give it a 7/10. There’s better stuff out there, but if you are a fan of the franchise this is a fun game to make the choice: Save the world, or awesomely blow it up.

The Walt Disney Studios has entered into an exclusive multi-year first look deal with “Spider-Man” creator and producer Stan Lee and his production company POW! Entertainment, it was announced by Dick Cook, chairman, The Walt Disney Studios.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lee and his production company will develop and produce all forms of entertainment. “As the father of such renowned comic book heroes as Spider-Man, The Hulk, X-Men among others, Stan is considered one of the most creative and inventive forces in the industry today. His innate talent of tapping into the human qualities of his super hero characters has certainly struck a chord with generations of audiences and readers around the world,” stated Cook in making the announcement. “We are honored to be working with someone as formidable as Stan and his production company and welcome them to the Disney family.”

“It’s like the realization of a dream. Ever since I was a young boy, Disney represented the best and most exciting film fare to me. And now, many decades later, with movies such as their incredible Pirates of the Caribbean spectaculars, Disney is still at the forefront of family entertainment, excelling in live action, animation, TV, theme parks — whatever it takes to bring fun and fantasy to audiences everywhere. I look forward with indescribable enthusiasm to being a part of that world and contributing whatever I can to keep the legend alive and growing,” said Stan Lee, chairman of POW! Entertainment.

Lately, I’ve been on a World of WarCraft kick. Within the past week, there’s been several days where I come home from work around 6:30 and some times don’t finish playing until almost 4:00 in the morning. Sad? Yes, I know. But because I am aware of the situation, I decided to do some research and see how dangerous this growing obsession could become.

A Korean husband and wife are facing criminal charges after their baby daughter died when they left her alone in order to play World of Warcraft.

According to news site Chosun, police say the parents left their four month-old child alone in a bedroom while they went to play the MMORPG at a local Internet cafe.

When they returned five hours later, the baby was lying on her stomach and had died of suffocation.

“We were thinking of playing for just an hour or two and returning home like usual, but the game took longer that day,” the couple is reported as saying.

Following a police investigation, the husband and wife will be required to defend their actions in court.

“It’s unfortunate, because the tragedy could have been averted if the couple had just left their daughter with Yu’s mother-in-law, who lived upstairs from them,” said police.

“We booked the pair on criminal charges, judging that when you consider the situation, they were responsible for their daughter’s death.”

HOLY CRAP!! I don’t have kids, but if I did – I wouldn’t want them to die because I was running around Razorfen Kraul looking for BlueLeaf Tubers. That’s just flat out neglect. You didn’t even have time to take your kid upstairs? I’m all for Father/Son bonding, so if anything, I’d help my kid create a character so he could help me clear out some dungeons. If he’s too young, he can sit on my lap and watch. Same goes for my hypothetical daughter.

Doctor: 40% of World of Warcraft players addicted

Twitch Guru talks with a clinical psychologist and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Maressa Orzack (pictured), who believes 40% of the 6 million World of Warcraft subscribers are addicted to the game. Said the doctor: “I think there needs to be warning labels on MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, similar to warning labels on cigarettes. People should know that these games are potentially harmful. I’m sure the game industry will be up in arms over it, but that’s what I’d like to see happen.”

Any readers purposely avoid the game because of its widely believed addictive nature? Furthermore, does a game, if abnormally addictive, warrant a warning label?

Like I said earlier, I’ve been playing a lot lately. With these previous articles in mind, I want to make sure this will not cause damage to myself, loved ones, or hypothetical loved ones. Luckily, I found a “Are You Addicted to World of Warcraft?” test on OkCupid… creditability aside, it still helped me gauge my possible addiction. Turns out I’m only 39% addicted! Good enough for me! That’s not even half! I’m okay so far! Guess I can go on and keep playing! Yep! No problems here! Did you say something about denial? I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.

I understand that some of you out there may already have a far worse WoW addiction than myself. Whether you’re aware of it or not, I suggest you check out the WoW Detox site to get some help.

I hope this information was helpful to anyone out there who has had encountered WoW Addiction. Please, use this information. There’s no need for more babies to die. I’ve confronted my problem – you should do the same.

First Transformers – now Thundercats! It looks like the 80’s animated action tv shows could be the new wave of awesome blockbuster movies. All we need now is live-action Jetsons, Johnny Quest, Carebears, and Smurfs movies and we’ll be all set!

Studio has optioned a script by tyro scribe Paul Sopocy to turn the popular 1980s animated series and toy line into a live action feature.

Warner-based Paula Weinstein will produce through her Spring Creek Prods. banner, along with Dick Robertson and Lew Korman.

Property revolves around a group of humanoid cats (with feline names like Lion-O, Tygra, Panthro and Cheetara) who must flee their planet of Thundera after it’s destroyed. Once crash-landing on another planet, Third Earth, they must thwart Mumm-Ra, an evil sorcerer, bent on killing them off.

Sopocy has written the script as an origin story expanding on the major heroes and villains from the animated series, with the plot focusing on Lion-O coming of age as the leader of the Thundercats.

And it’s about time! For those of you familiar with Blizzard and their popular game series like Diablo, WarCraft, and StarCraft – you’ll be happy to know that they’ve finally announced the highly anticipated StarCraft 2. To read up on it, check out the site by clicking here.